Tony Pulis finally saw his side score a home league goal at the fourth attempt.

The gap between Boro and the play-off places was reduced to four points, a surmountable tally that can be chipped away at further over the coming weeks with four of the next six matches all coming against sides fighting relegation.

And Britt Assombalonga's late penalty, a moment of real controversy, sailed about four miles above Vito Mannone's crossbar.

With 15 games to go, Boro are well-placed to be that team. You know, the one that always breaks into the play-off places out of nowhere during the final few weeks.

But the wily Welshman won't believe that deep down. He'll know that sixth-placed Bristol City are sliding, having picked up just five points from their last six.

He'll know that Sheffield United. probably Boro's biggest threat outside of the play-off places, are blowing hot and cold. They've won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six.

And he'll know that while Boro are picking up points and sit seventh in the Championship form table, his team are yet to find anything close to top gear.

In truth, that sentence rings true when assessing the majority of the season so far. Yet Boro are still there, lurking in the shadows, skulking in the background of the top-six tussle.

There's still plenty of time for Boro to take centre stage, and as a couple of their rivals continue to falter, Pulis's eyes widen.

After another busy weekend of second-tier action, here's a look at the big winners and losers:

Three up

Adama Traore (again)

Last month, Adama Traore completed more dribbles on his own than nine Championship teams.

It's a statistic that sparked several follow-up questions from his doubters. How many of those led to goals? How many assists has he provided? Why are Boro still not in the top-six then?

That will be the stick used to beat this enigmatic talent between now and May. It always has been.

Yet Saturday's win over Reading was another glimpse of just what Traore is - and just how important he is to this team.

Quite how Aitor Karanka, Steve Agnew or Garry Monk failed to find a regular starting spot for Traore grows more baffling by the week.

The 22-year-old has his weaknesses, a few rough edges that can sometimes prove costly. His sending off at Aston VIlla and his bemusing tackle late in the home game against Cardiff are just two examples.

Adama Traore and Rudy Gestede celebrate

But for every negative, he brings a positive or two. Whatever the scenario - whether Boro are winning or losing - he happily receives the ball under pressure. He backs his own ability to wriggle free in any situation and get his side on the front foot.

He terrorises his opposite number, transfixes defences and dominates the opposition's team-talk.

The next challenge for Boro's other players to capitalise on the extra space he creates, even if Traore himself is having something of an off-day.

But he's not having many of those at the moment. His two-goal haul against the meek Royals was just reward for a sizzling run of form that has got Teesside salivating.

No end product? Traore is Boro's joint-top scorer since Pulis's appointment, and has a couple of assists to add to the mix too.

Monk seemed to think Boro couldn't function with Traore in the team. The opposite can now be said. Boro can't function without him.

If Traore continues to improve, there's no doubt that he will attract interest from the country's super-clubs. Why wouldn't he? He has everything - pace, power, strength, stamina and now an end product.

He still has his flaws, but let's enjoy this freak of a talent. Because even going back to the days at Ayresome Park, it's hard to remember a player quite like him.

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Bamford sticking to his task

He may not be stealing the headlines but Patrick Bamford continues to fill Boro's gap on the left-hand side with minimum fuss and maximum effort.

It's the elephant in the room. Boro are short of options and quality on the left wing and that must be causing Pulis something of a headache.

Stewart Downing is needed inside, Jack Harrison isn't fully up to speed, Marvin Johnson is clearly not fancied and Martin Braithwaite has departed.

So that leaves Bamford, a centre forward, tasked with deputising on that flank. It doesn't look like a natural fit, but to his credit, the player is sticking to his task - and is clearly doing what Pulis wants.

Patrick Bamford

Fair play to the 24-year-old too. He might not be racking up the goals, but he's sacrificing himself for the good of the team - in a position that has been problematic ever since the season kicked off back in August 2017.

Bamford has now started Boro's last five matches in all competitions, his best run in more than two years and his most prolonged starting stint since his loan spell on Teesside.

Back in 2014/15, when often deployed on the right under Aitor Karanka, Bamford approached the Spaniard and requested a more central berth. He felt he could help the team more by playing through the middle.

Eventually, Karanka made that switch and Bamford's 19 goals during that season helped Boro come within a whisker of promotion.

Now, after a galling couple of seasons, Bamford finds himself in a similar position - playing out wide and finding himself as an unorthodox fix out wide.

While it is clearly not his best position, he is showing enough effort, energy and application to warrant Pulis's selection.

At the minute, Bamford seems to be Boro's best option out there - and that's credit to the player.

Adomah's staggering stats

When Aston Villa came to the Riverside in December for Pulis's first game they were level on points with Boro after 25 games played.

Now, fast forward a few weeks, Steve Bruce's side are 11 points clear of Boro and sitting in the automatic promotion places.

The pressure was firmly on Bruce before both of Boro's league games against Villa this season. After the 1-0 win at the Riverside on December 28, Bruce spoke of the perception that his side were "spiralling into a crisis".

"I hope it shuts a few people up again as it becomes very annoying that we're just one week away from a crisis," Bruce hit back.

"We have to get on with the job in hand."

They have certainly done that. They've won seven on the bounce in the league and are yet to taste defeat in the Championship since Steve Agnew took up his new role as first-team coach at Villa Park.

Albert Adomah celebrates his goal (Image: Birmingham Mail)

Coincidence, perhaps - but it's becoming a common trend on a weekend. Villa win, and ex-Boro winger Albert Adomah ends up on the scoresheet more often than not.

That proved the case again yesterday as Adomah scored the first as Villa beat arch-rivals Birmingham 2-0 to leapfrog Derby in the Championship standings.

That's a staggering statistic, and while Traore continues to dazzle in the North-east, Villa fans will remain adamant it was they who got the better end of the deal when Adomah left the North-east back in August 2016.

Next up for Villa is a tough trip to Fulham, another side in-form, while they also face Preston and Wolves over the coming weeks.

Three down

Britt Assombalonga's embarrassment

By wrestling the ball off designated spot-kick king Grant Leadbitter, Britt Assombalonga simply had to score from 12 yards.

He shouldn't have taken it. The mini-squabble that followed brought back memories of the home win against Rotherham in 2014/15 when Bamford and Kike Garcia were involved in a similarly unhelpful spat.

Actually, if anybody had half a case of taking the ball off Leadbitter, who scored against Reading in October's reverse fixture, it was probably Traore - the winner of the penalty who was on a hat-trick.

Britt Assombalonga's penalty miss

Assombalonga has had a tough time of late. His starting place has come under threat and he's been the subject of public criticism from Pulis. This was meant to be his way of easing the pressure and turning the page.

What followed was a dreadful effort which sailed several feet above the crossbar. He could only glance sheepishly at his disgruntled teammates as the ball continued to rise, rise - and rise a bit more.

That feeling will no doubt have turned into a combination of bubbling frustration and outright embarrassment as the weekend progressed.

His rugby-style conversion may not have cost Boro the game, but it may well cost him a place in the side for the next few weeks.

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A familiar feeling for ex-defender

Cyrus Christie's decision to leave Boro after just six months on Teesside was no doubt due to his lack of game-time under Pulis.

The Republic of Ireland international started 21 of the 23 league games under Garry Monk, but quickly found himself relegated to the bench following Pulis's appointment as Ryan Shotton nailed down the right-back jersey.

It's been a drab 2018 so far for Christie, who has started just one league game in this calendar year. He left Boro craving regular game-time - but it's not quite worked out for him at Fulham yet.

Eyebrows were raised when Christie opted for Craven Cottage on deadline day, with many questioning whether he would be able to dislodge Ryan Fredericks in west London.

That task has so far proven beyond Christie, who has yet to play a single second for the Cottagers.

He was an unused substitute for the second successive weekend in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Bolton, and it's hard to see quite how the 25-year-old is going to break into the Fulham XI barring an injury or a tactical tweak.

Unless Christie takes a leaf out of Bamford's book and plays out of position, possibly as a winger, the defender's torment on the sidelines could continue well into the summer.

Bristol City's slide continues

Not too long ago, when discussing Boro's top-six chances, a valid question was raised. 'Which of the sides currently in the play-off places are likely to drop out?'

At the time, that looked like an impossible scenario. Aston Villa, Cardiff, Bristol City and Sheffield United all looked nailed-on to finish in the upper echelons, leaving Boro and Fulham scratching their heads as to how on earth they'd break into the mix.

Well, it's funny what a few weeks can do to the Championship table.

After a six-game unbeaten run through November and December, Bristol City looked like a side who could possibly threaten the automatic promotion places, never mind finish in the play-offs.

Yet, like a flick of a switch, their form has fallen off a cliff. Lee Johnson's side have won just one of their last seven - and threw away a three-goal lead on Saturday to drop more valuable points at home to Sunderland.

Lee Johnson, manager of Bristol City

In a bid to protect his side from the inevitable post-match flak at Ashton Gate, Johnson accepted responsibility for the Robins' collapse.

"It's probably poor decision-making by me. I have to hold my hands up and say, tactically, I got it wrong in the second half," Johnson told the BBC. "I should have settled for 3-0. I probably got excited, and felt they were there for the taking.

"We had chances but we crumbled. I should have given the lads a bit more help and put another midfielder on at 3-1, and changed it up a bit.

"So, my fault, and apologies. To lose those two points is very, very frustrating."

Frustrating, and possibly costly too with BristoL City having dropped to sixth, just three points above the chasing pack.

In fact, before they kick off at Leeds on Sunday, they could find themselves down in eighth behind Sheffield United and Preston, with Boro breathing down their necks.

Their fixture list doesn't make for encouraging reading either. After Leeds is a home game against in-form Fulham, before Bristol City end the month away at Cardiff.